It’s a wine so successful that its very name has become synonymous with Italian ‘bubbles’ everywhere in the world. With all due respect to the different methods of winemaking – Prosecco is made with the charmat method while Champagne, Franciacorta and Trentodoc are made with the classic method – most people don’t distinguish among the different Italian sparkling wines, even in Italy. They just say, “Let’s have a Prosecco” when they mean they want to drink a glass of sparkling wine.
The Prosecco region, in the eastern part of Veneto, appears to its many visitors as a spiritual place, with a landscape of gentle hills, caressed by the sun, that inspires serenity at first glance. Prosecco wine is mostly made with a grapes of ancient origin, once known as Prosecco. (Other grapes may be added, including local varieties Verdiso and Bianchetta.) According to recent DNA studies, Glera grapes probably originally came from Istria, a region of Croatia, from where they were taken to Friuli and then to Veneto. In 2009, to prevent other producers using the Prosecco name for their sparkling wines, the official bodies reorganised the whole denomination of origin. They changed the regional name to Prosecco and the grape name to Glera; today there are three Proseccos.
The first is made in the huge Prosecco DOC denomination of origin, which stretches from Vicenza in Veneto to the formerly small village of Prosecco in Friuli and covers 24,450ha. Then there is the most historic area of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, where the Prosecco Superiore DOCG covers 8,088ha of vineyards and, finally, the smaller Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG , of less than 1,000ha.
In total there are 10,242 grape growers, 1,149 wineries and 348 sparkling wine houses involved in the production of Prosecco. The Prosecco DOC, with its 319 ML of annual production, accounts for the lion’s share of Prosecco, while the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG area produces 683,000hl of Prosecco Superiore and the Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG just 93,000hl. Altogether, the combined regions produce 530m bottles. The turnover of the Prosecco DOC is impressive: in 2018, it was €2.3bn ($2.5bn), compared to €521m for the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Prosecco is an export success, with most bottles sold abroad, particularly in the US, UK and Germany. About 25% remains in Italy, sold mainly in the north.
As of August 2019, the production rules of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG have been modified. The sui lieviti (meaning aged on lees or ‘sur lie’) category, otherwise known as col fondo, has been introduced, where the wine referments in the bottle. The updated production rules aim to reinforce tradition, recognise the extra brut category, and also appeal to a new group of consumers who are looking for more personality in their wines. The new rules also enhance the Rive category by recognising the superior quality of grapes that come from the steepest sloping vineyards; these slopes are known as ‘rive’ in the local language. They are so steep as to be almost vertical and can only be worked by hand.
Cartizze, which sits at the top of the Prosecco quality pyramid, is mostly produced in a limited area of 107ha, including some rive, where the best grapes have always been cultivated. This zone has recently been granted UNESCO World Heritage status, thanks to the morphology of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills, which have been shaped by human hands. The cultivating of grape vines on the grassy ridges and the creation of terraces of earth and grass has been responsible for the creation of a unique landscape.
Organisations and associations
In every Italian denomination of origin, the most important official organisation is the consortium: Prosecco has three of them. Stefano Zanette is president of the Prosecco DOC Consortium; Innocente Nardi is president of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Consortium and Ugo Zamperoni is head of the Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG Consortium. To help the producers improve the quality of their wines, all the consortia collaborate with scientific bodies, the most meaningful of which is the Viticulture Research Centre (CREA-VIT) in Conegliano. The man in charge is director Diego Tomasi, an esteemed researcher.
While the consortia are involved in issues relating to production, the Confraternita di Valdobbiadene (Valdobbiadene Brotherhood) is a prestigious association, founded in 1946, whose members are technicians and winemaking personalities. Their mission is the development and promotion of Prosecco Superiore DOCG in partnership with its people and wineries. The current Grand Master is Loris Dall’Acqua, oenologist and co-founder of the Col Vetoraz Spumanti winery, who is a respected winemaker in the region. Gianfranco Zanon, technical director of Valdo Spumanti, is the First Master.
Another association that’s strongly involved in promotion and wine education is the Associazione Italiana Sommelier (AIS). Its regional delegate is the sommelier Wladimiro Gobbo, who is also a journalist with a local newspaper.
In 2017, the Consortium of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore partnered with the University of Padua to create a Prosecco Wine Master, a one-year vocational course that aims to train participants in ways to communicate and promote sparkling wine. Martina Andretta, a sommelier, passed the exam and is now is a Prosecco Superiore Ambassador. “Being an ambassador means supporting the consortium in the dissemination and correct information about Prosecco Superiore DOCG ,” she says, adding she is always ready to help with events and tastings. “I represent the whole denomination, not a restaurant or a winery in particular.” In the same Valdobbiadene village, there is also the association Degustatori di Valdobbiadene (Tasters of Valdobbiadene), created by mostly young producers with a food and wine focus. They organise occasional tastings to compare Prosecco with wines from other regions. The president is Elisa Piazza.
Restaurants, and wine bars
The Prosecco region has many good restaurants and wine bars. Downtown Treviso boasts the historic restaurant Le Beccherie, which created tiramisu in 1970. It’s currently managed by Paolo Lai, a busy entrepreneur who owns also Al Corder restaurant and La Proseccheria dell’Oste wine bar. Lai, regarded by many people as a true Prosecco man, was the author and proponent of the first ever show on a Prosecco theme, “Prosecco & Superiore ai Carraresi”, a multi-sensory art exhibition held in 2017-18 at Casa dei Carraresi, Treviso’s renowned mediaeval palazzo.
Outside the city, in S.Stefano di Valdobbiadene, the young and admired chef Chiara Barisan manages the Salis Ristorante Enoteca, deep in the Cartizze hills. In the village of Miane, the restaurant Da Gigetto, managed for years by Gigetto Bortolini and his family, is famous not only for its food but also for its amazing cellar, one of the most beautiful in Italy. It boasts 1,600 domestic and foreign wine labels, which rest in a succession of niches and rooms. In the village of Solighetto, the Locanda da Lino, founded by chef Lino Toffolin more than half a century ago, is famous for having been the meeting place of movie stars, poets and artists.
While all the restaurants and wine bars of the region sell Prosecco, none comes close to Prosecco Privée in San Vendemiano, a place where the food can be paired with the more than 100 labels on the wine list, some of which are also available online.
Communication and events
Very few Italian wine journalists are as expert about Prosecco as Gianpaolo Giacobbo, who has been involved in wine since the 1990s. His particular interest is small Prosecco producers, and he pays special attention to artisanal wineries and producers of Prosecco sur lie. He is also a frequent collaborator with the local delegation of FIVI (Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti, or Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers).
When it comes to public relations agencies, one of the best known is Gheusis, located close to Treviso. Its staff, headed by president Silvia Baratta, has an in-depth knowledge of the Prosecco area, and over the years has organised many national and international wine and food events.
When it comes to events, one that’s unmissable is the Primavera del Prosecco Superiore. It involves art exhibitions, concerts, cultural and traditional events in every village of the denomination, giving wine tourists a great opportunity to explore the territory and discover its products and, above all, to drink Prosecco in the place it was born.
Elisabetta Tosi
This article first appeared in Issue 5, 2019 of Meininger's Wine Business International magazine, available in print or online by subscription.
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